Something was definitely different from my previous life…
Was I just too lost in my thoughts?
As I lifted the teapot to pour, the tea overflowed before I noticed.
“Ah! Hot!”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah…”
“You should have been more careful.”
Palgap quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped my hand and the hem of my robe.
Ah… I finally remembered what that sense of wrongness I felt was.
In my previous life, Young Master Ho Gyeong absolutely hated anything hot.
He would even let his tea go completely cold before drinking it…
He hadn’t been like that at first, but some incident had changed him…
Could it be that incident was actually this accident that just happened now?
Back then I hadn’t been there, and yet somehow he had still survived.
If so, that would mean it hadn’t been a simple accident then either, but that the Baekcheon Merchant Group had already been scheming against the White Flame Merchant Group.
Thinking along those lines, I picked up one of the pastries dusted with gold powder and popped it into my mouth.
As expected, maybe because it was sprinkled with gold, it tasted reall…
Ah! I’m not Geumryeong.
Just then, a maid’s voice came from outside.
“The Merchant Lord has arrived.”
I hurriedly rose to my feet.
A moment later, the door opened and Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin, his son, and Young Master Ho Gyeong walked in.
“Thank you for inviting us like this.”
I offered a polite bow, and we all took our seats.
“I truly appreciate that you saved my grandson the other day.”
“Not at all. I just couldn’t ignore an accident happening right in front of me.”
“And that’s exactly what makes someone a hero. There’s a reason people call you the Handsome Young Hero.”
…That ridiculously burdensome title, isn’t there anyone who wants to take it off my hands?
No matter how many times I hear it, I just can’t get used to it.
“Ah, do the refreshments suit your taste?”
“Yes, they’re really delicious.”
“I’m glad you like them. By the way, I heard that because of that incident, your artifact reached the end of its lifespan.”
He took a box from his robe and handed it to me.
“Take it.”
I opened the box.
“What is this?”
“I acquired a new artifact that holds cold Qi.”
“…”
That thing was just a cheap little trinket…
It felt like the refreshments I’d just eaten were suddenly sitting heavy in my stomach.
I quickly pushed the box back toward Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin and spoke up.
“I’m sorry. I can’t accept this.”
“Didn’t you use your artifact to save my grandson, and that’s why it ran out of lifespan?”
“Even without that incident, it was an artifact that would have worn out soon anyway.”
“Even so, didn’t it reach its end earlier because of that?”
“You can’t say for sure that’s the case.”
I kept refusing, but Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin refused to back down.
I honestly had no idea how to handle this.
If I’d actually used a real artifact, that would be one thing, but I hadn’t.
Is this what they mean when they talk about killing someone while pretending to tidy up a corpse?
Back then, I’d thought I’d neatly hidden my cultivation realm using the trinket Geumryeong tossed me…
It made me think, so this is why people say you shouldn’t lie… but I hadn’t had a choice.
Who knew where the Murim Alliance’s hidden eyes and ears might be lurking.
And my cultivation realm was a claw I had to keep hidden for the sake of my revenge.
As I continued to decline, Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin started to press me.
“Come now! I told you to accept it already.”
“Why won’t you take it?”
“Do you perhaps not like the artifact?”
When not only Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin but also Young Master Ho Gyeong and his father urged me on, I couldn’t keep refusing.
Fine, I did save Young Master Ho Gyeong anyway, so I’ll just accept it.
“Then I’ll shamelessly accept it, and thank you.”
“A wise decision.”
I accepted the artifact and set it down beside me.
Then Young Master Ho Gyeong’s father opened his mouth to speak.
“And since thanks to you Ho Gyeong avoided a disaster, it’s only right to show our gratitude separately as well. So I prepared this for you – please accept it.”
He held out an envelope to me.
I took it and opened it.
“…”
Inside was a token made of iron.
“That token lets you request any steel item you want. You can use it at any Iron Workshop shop owned by the White Flame Merchant Group anywhere in the Empire.”
It’s worth far more than a decent amount of gold.
So they really mean it.
I’d already accepted the artifact, so I couldn’t very well refuse this.
Don’t tell me this was why they offered the artifact first?
Haa…
For some reason, it felt like I’d just taken a hit.
“I’ll accept it gratefully.”
At that moment, Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin asked me:
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Perfect. Then would you join us for lunch?”
“I’d be happy to.”
So that was why he’d asked me to come at this time – to share a meal together.
“Then let’s be on our way.”
“Yes.”
We headed for the dining hall inside the merchant group’s compound.
Soon, countless dumplings began to fill the wide table.
Excuse me, Merchant Lord? Anyone could see this is absolutely not a simple lunch…
“Eat.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
They say even a ghost that dies with a full stomach looks good, so I might as well eat.
There were over twenty different kinds of dumplings laid out on the table.
Thanks to that, I got to taste every sort of dumpling imaginable.
After we finished that pleasant lunch, we sipped tea and talked.
Before I knew it, the conversation drifted to a book I’d recently read.
“Hoho, you’ve read that book too?”
“Yes. I read it not long ago on someone’s recommendation.”
“Yes, it’s certainly a book worth recommending. There’s so much to think about in it – especially in the third chapter…”
Since I’d just read it recently and could respond, Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin got excited and launched into the discussion.
Watching him, I felt it had actually been worth slogging through that boring book.
While I was chatting with Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin, an attendant came in.
“Merchant Lord, I’m sorry to intrude on your pleasant time, but it’s almost time for your appointment with Merchant Lord Seo Ga of the Seoga Merchant Group.”
“Ah! Is it that time already? Very well.”
He rose to his feet as he spoke.
“Talking with you makes time fly. Your insight is truly impressive.”
“You flatter me.”
“And thank you for going to the trouble of keeping this old man company.”
“Not at all. I enjoyed it as well.”
“Come visit anytime. I’ll always look forward to meeting you.”
Earlier, his gratitude toward me had seemed strongest, but now the joy of having found a kindred conversation partner outweighed even that.
“Well then, take care.”
“Yes, see you next time.”
Once Merchant Lord Ho Ju–shin left, his son, the Deputy Merchant Lord, also stood up.
“I also have a prior engagement soon, so I’ll take my leave first.”
“All right. I had a good time today.”
“You can chat a bit more with Gyeong if you like – do as you please. Then, take care.”
“Yes.”
After the two elders left, only Young Master Ho Gyeong and I remained.
I scratched the back of my neck and said,
“I’m worried I might get in trouble for accepting this much.”
“Please don’t say that. These are all things well within what you can handle, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
Young Master Ho Gyeong continued,
“To be honest, I barely managed to stop them from giving you even more. I thought it would only burden you.”
“You did well.”
“Our family motto is to return twice what we receive, so everyone tends to act like this. I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
“I see. That’s a truly admirable family motto.”
“So…”
Tap.
Young Master Ho Gyeong pulled something from his sleeve and set it on the table.
This is…
The moment I saw it, I couldn’t help flinching.
“Isn’t this… a dagger?”
What in the world… was he trying to say by giving this to me?
He spoke with a rather solemn air.
“Since you saved my life, Deputy Merchant Lord, I intend to repay that favor with my own life.”
“I trust you don’t mean you’re entrusting your life to me or anything like that.”
“Not quite. I’m someone who values my life too, after all.”
“Then what is this for…?”
“This is a token of my vow that someday, at least once, I’ll risk my life to help you.”
Excuse me, but isn’t that basically the same thing?
“I’m giving you this dagger so that if I ever forget this promise, you can take it out and remind me.”
It was a little overwhelming, but there was no way I could refuse in this mood.
“All right. I’ll remember.”
Help from the successor of the Number One Merchant Group Under Heaven would surely come in handy someday.
I carefully tucked the dagger into my robe.
“What are your plans for this afternoon?”
“This afternoon, I have a dinner gathering.”
He smiled at my answer and said,
“Sounds like you’re meeting with people you’re fond of.”
“Oh? Was it that obvious?”
“Well, I saw you smile just now.”
“You’re right. I’m having dinner with the other Deputy Merchant Lords I sat with at the gathering. I recently found a place that does an incredible spicy braised chicken dish.”
Well, it’s not like it’s some big secret.
“Spicy braised chicken… Ah! The Golden Rooster Pavilion!”
“That’s right. Do you know much about the place?”
In response to my question, he shook his head.
“Other than what I mentioned before, not really. I just know it was built a little over a year ago, and that the pavilion master and the head chef are married.”
“So that’s their relationship. If a married couple settled here to run it, I assumed they were from this city.”
“Apparently not. I heard they drifted here from another region.”
“I see.”
Then Young Master Ho Gyeong said something unexpected.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun, if it wouldn’t be rude, could I join you there?”
“Huh?”
“I’d like for us to become closer.”
“So what you said back then wasn’t just empty talk?”
At my question, he nodded.
“I really can’t make empty promises.”
That was true. Even in my previous life, Young Master Ho Gyeong had never spoken empty words.
“Then couldn’t we just meet the two of us tomorrow?”
“That would be nice too, of course, but isn’t it more fun when there are several people gathered?”
He continued,
“To be honest, I don’t have many friends my age. And even within the same merchant world, I haven’t yet met anyone whose heart really matches mine.”
“I see.”
“But I thought that the people who gather around you, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun, might be the kind who’d suit me as well.”
I understood how he felt.
People who don’t know the circumstances might ask if he’s actually screening his friends… but when you’re with the Number One Merchant Group Under Heaven – or even just one of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven – you can’t help but be selective.
Because most people approach you with their eyes on your money.
That’s why so many heirs of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven end up deeply hurt by fake friends.
If they catch on quickly and cut those ties, it’s fortunate, but if they can’t, their lives end up ruined because of those so–called friends.
Of course, there are also those who just flock together with their own kind, like the people who tormented Young Master Dam Jin…
In any case, ironically, because of money, finding a true kindred friend whose heart matches yours becomes harder than plucking a star from the sky.
Of course, there can be friendships that cut through differences in wealth and are worth risking your life for, but those are anything but common.
Anyway, because I understood that feeling all too well, I couldn’t turn down his request.
“All right. Then I’ll ask the others and get back to you.”
To be honest, I was the one hosting this gathering partly because it happened to be my birthday, but the wishes of the others attending mattered too.
“You’ll really do that for me?”
“It’s not a difficult thing to do.”
“Then I’ll send someone from our merchant group. In the meantime, would you chat with me for a bit?”
I called someone over and sent word to the people who were supposed to gather this evening.
And then we resumed our conversation.
“To be honest, I was surprised listening to you speak with my grandfather earlier. For someone in the merchant world, my grandfather loves books so much that his learning is exceptional. But…”
He let out a wry little laugh.
“He talks a bit too much, doesn’t he?”
“…”
It was true, but I hadn’t expected his grandson, Young Master Ho Gyeong, to say it so bluntly to my face.
Him being talkative didn’t mean he went on about merchant group matters; he simply loved talking about the books he’d read.
It was probably a way of making up for a past where his learning had been looked down on.
Just how badly had people treated him in the past…
Young Master Ho Gyeong went on,
“Honestly, I understand why he’s like that, but for my father and me, it’s hard to keep a conversation with Grandfather going for more than fifteen minutes.”
“Hahaha.”
“So it’s quite a trial. As his family, we’re supposed to be filial and listen respectfully to everything he says, but…”
He let out a sigh.
“What’s your secret?”
“There’s no special secret.”
I scratched the back of my neck and said,
“I just make time to read books whenever I can.”
“Books?”
I nodded.
“Yes. Once you’re at the level of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven, most of the people you deal with are either from those merchant groups or they’re officials, right? Those kinds of people like to talk about books.”
“I see. That must be why Grandfather loves reading so much.”
“Most likely.”
After thinking for a moment, he asked me,
“On a normal day, how many hours do you sleep?”
“On a normal day?”
Hmm, now that he mentioned it, how many hours did I usually sleep?
After doing a quick calculation, I suddenly felt a little awkward about saying it out loud.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… I’d never really thought about it, but I just realized I only sleep about four hours a day.”
“…”
Wow, and I’m still alive like this.
While we were talking like that, the merchant group’s servants arrived.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt